Multi-instrumentalist, producer and The Pineapple Thief mastermind Bruce Soord announces his new album ‘Luminescence’ out September 22nd. The album will be his third solo offering and is supported by a very rare European solo tour in Europe and UK in September.
Inspired by the idea of finding inner peace, Soord’s latest solo release Luminescence explores the difficulty of living in the metropolis of the modern world. Born from days exploring various cities whilst on tour, tracks from the album feature recordings from Soord’s various wanderings captured on his field recorder.
With acoustic guitar at the centre of the album, tracks such as ‘Lie Flat’ appear simple on the surface yet reveal Soord’sunmistakable intricacies throughout. There’s a variety of styles within though. The album’s single ‘Dear Life’ effortlessly encapsulates Soord’s unique sense of poised melancholy, while ‘Nestle In’ flirts with electronica. ‘Olomouc’s rousing strings work against the acoustic backdrop of Soord’s guitar to paint a vivid picture of the stillness that the record describes.
Recorded between January 2021 and June of 2023, the album was cut at Soord Studios with additional strings recorded at RAK Studio 3 in London, featuring arrangements from Andrew Skeet, long time member of The Divine Comedy and musical producer of the orchestration on many films/tv shows from Netflix’s smash hit Black Mirror to David Attenborough’s Green Planet and Dynasties II.
Alongside the announcement of the new album, first single ‘Dear Life’ has been released with a beautifully shot video. Directed and filmed by Jeremy George and produced by Blacktide Productions (www.blacktideproductions.co.uk) the video aims to capture the essence of stillness and peace that is found in the beauty of the every day.
When Kscope asked me to make a music video for the lead track ‘Dear Life’ there was only one person I was going to call. Jeremy George from Blacktide Productions, who I have worked with exclusively since 2018 lives down the road from me on the Jurassic coast in Dorset. That’s where he directed and shot it. It’s absolutely beautiful, as you can see. We were lucky to be in the midst of a fairly rare UK heatwave, the setting sun providing the perfect light. The song isn’t exactly abstract, it’s pretty clear from the words and the feel of the music what I’m trying to say. And George captured it perfectly, along with his amazing assembled cast. He has a wonderful talent for bringing the majesty of the countryside where we live to life into the camera.
Regarding the single Soord had the following to say: “Dear Life, which opens the record, doesn’t need much explaining. ‘Don’t wish that it will all be over, in the sweetest blink of an eye’. We are always told to not let life pass us by, but it’s easier said than done. And before you know it, it’s done! As my life in particular starts to age, it was an easy subject to relate to. It’s actually sung from the perspective of an elderly parent, on their death bed, to their child.”
‘Luminescence’ track list:
- Dear Life [03:03]
- Lie Flat [03:51]
- Olomouc [03:55]
- So Simple [02:05]
- Never Ending Light [04:13]
- Day of All Days [03:23]
- Nestle In [03:15]
- Instant Flash of Light [03:36]
- Rushing [03:03]
- Stranded Here [03:41]
- Read to Me [02:07]
- Find Peace [04:45]
The album will be available as a limited edition deluxe 3-disc hardback book version that will contain two CD’s and a DVD. The second disc will contain an entire bonus album ‘Our Ship Sails At Dusk’, featuring material that was from the writing sessions over the period of Luminescence. The DVD will feature everything in hi-resolution stereo and DTS 5.1′
Bruce comments on ‘Our Ship Sails At Dusk’:
I’d been writing for my solo album on and off since 2021. By the end of 2022, I took stock, finding myself with an album’s worth of loosely connected songs. I spent some time away from the studio, to focus my mind on what I was trying to say, I guess getting myself into a more specific emotional space from which to write. All of a sudden I hit this purple patch. Every time I picked up my acoustic everything seemed to work and the words started to flow. It’s something, as a songwriter, you wish happened every day! Before long, I had finished the main record and found myself with enough material for an extra album. Thematically it still follows the same broad narrative as the main disc, it’s a true companion.
Luminescence will be released as a limited edition deluxe 3 disc hardback book (Luminescence + exclusive bonus album + 48 page book + DVD) / CD / LP / Limited Edition Blue LP / Digital and in Dolby Atmos.
Preorder the album here: https://BruceSoord.lnk.to/Luminescence
